DNA TESTING FOR PRECISION MEDICINE

About to have surgery? Taking pain medicine but still feeling pain? Taking medicines to counteract the side-effect of other medicines?

Whether you sometimes take paracetamol for a headache or routinely combine medicines in a regime tailored to specific illnesses – physical or psychological – knowing how your body will process (metabolise) those medicines can not only improve your quality of life, but could also save it.

Your DNA and your doctor can help. Contact us at [email protected] to find out more.

ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS & DRUG-TO-DRUG INTERACTIONS

Do you know about Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) and drug-to-drug interactions? Here are some statistics:

0%
OF MEDICATIONS PATIENTS TAKE ARE INEFFECTIVE
0th
LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH
0+
HOSPITALIZATIONS YEARLY
0+
REPORTED IN NURSING HOMES

DNA TESTING FOR PERSONALIZED MEDICATION

Precision Medicine is the customization of healthcare and pharmacogenetics takes it to the genetic level, by marrying the prescription of medicine – both in ingredients and in dosage – with the science of a person’s DNA. It makes the application and delivery of precision medication more efficient, more safe, more cost-effective, and more accurate, by predicting a patient’s drug response based on genetics rather than trial and error.

GeneTrait – a part of PTC Laboratories – is a world pioneer in pharmacogenetics, specializing in genetic testing for drug/medication metabolism that identifies prescription risk factors and drug-to-drug interactions. We use the latest in genotyping technology and advanced molecular diagnostics to provide results with forensic grade accuracy. Our assays provide doctors and physicians with a risk-management profile for patient medications that include the common cardiac (heart), psychotropic and pain medications. Our accurate genetic testing allows hospitals and clinics to truly personalize patient care and optimize treatment plans, to the utmost benefit of their patients and their own institutions.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

“I’ve been a pediatrician for over 22 years, and since I’ve been using GeneTrait testing, quite frankly, it’s changed my life in medicine for the better! I am a much more efficient prescriber of various medications than I have ever been before. I can save my patients the aggravation of experiencing what would have been side effects of certain medications. I can save my patients time in getting them on the correct medication and dosage in many pressing situations. And I can also save my patients money in copays for scripts they would have filled in a pharmacy that wouldn’t have worked.”

Dr. Lewis Jassey (Bellmore, New York), GENETRAIT CLIENT

DID YOU KNOW?

Ineffective Medication
On average, 50% of the medications patients take are ineffective.
This could be due to many reasons but a patients' genetics
plays a major role in how medications are metabolized.

Major Cause of Death
The fourth (4th) leading cause of death in the US were ADRs,
ahead of pulmonary disease, diabetes, AIDS, pneumonia,
accidents, and automobile deaths.

Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs)
Countries that have recognized this problem and are tackling it using personalized medicine: USA, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, France, Thailand, and Singapore.

FAQ

Pharmacogenetics is the study of the way our genes (in our DNA) affects our response to medications or drugs. Our DNA is responsible for the creation of enzymes that metabolize medications. Let us take a very simple look at a VERY complicated subject:

  • A small amount of these enzymes can dictate a patient’s specific medication reaction
  • Specific genes will often affect multiple medications
  • Even when the same enzyme is involved, it treats each medication a different way Personalized Medicine is the customization of healthcare for a single individual.

Pharmacogenetics takes personalized medicine to the genetic level, by marrying the prescription of medicine – both in ingredients and in dosage – with the science of a person’s DNA. It makes the application and delivery of personalized medication more efficient, more safe, more cost-effective, and more accurate, by predicting a patient’s drug response based on genetics rather than trial and error.

GeneTrait – a part of PTC Laboratories – is a world pioneer in pharmacogenetics, specializing in genetic testing for drug metabolism that identifies prescription risk factors and drug interactions using the latest in genotyping technology and advanced molecular diagnostics. Our assays provide doctors and physicians with a risk-management profile for patient medications that include the common cardiac (heart), psychotropic and pain medications. Our genetic testing allows hospitals and clinics to truly personalize patient care and optimize treatment plans, to the utmost benefit of their patients and their own institutions.

This test is for anyone at any age. However, you should seriously consider this test if you:
  • have recently started taking any of these types of medications – pain, cardiac (heart) or psychotropic
  • want to change your pain, cardiac (heart) or psychotropic medications
  • are taking more than 5 different types of medications and need to add more medications to your daily medication regime
  • are going for a scheduled surgery
  • have been prescribed Clopidogrel (Plavix). This drug does not work for 50% of the world’s population.

Most new drugs are approved with an average of 1,500 patient exposures and usually for only relatively short periods of time. However, some drugs cause serious adverse drug reactions at very low frequencies and would require many more exposures to detect the reaction. A drug that is tested in a few thousand people may have an excellent safety profile in those few thousand patients. But, within a short time after entering the market, the drug may be administered to several million patients. That means that for drugs that cause rare toxicity, their toxicity can only be detected after, not before, marketing. Essentially, it’s a case of educated Trial & Error and this is not the doctor’s fault at all.

There is also the effect medications have on each other – we call these Drug-to-Drug Interactions. With the sheer volume of medications available on the market, new and old, branded and generic, it is becoming increasingly difficult for doctors to prescribe medications. This becomes especially true if the patient has to take multiple medications.

Looking at the statistics:

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs)

  • are the number 1 cause of hospital re-admittance within the first 30 days of discharge
  • 4th leading cause of death in the USA
  • cause more than 2 million hospitalizations every year
  • are responsible for more than 120,000 deaths every year

In 2020, people aged over 60 years old will be more than the number of 5 year olds on the planet for the first time in human history. By 2050, we predict that more than 2 billion people will be over 60 years old. That is twice the number today.

An aging population requires more and more medications for

  • quality of life,
  • to prolong their life,
  • to ease pain,
  • to keep diseases and illnesses under control

Today, a 65 year old takes on average 8-10 prescribed medications. This increases to 16-18 medications for people above the age of 85. It is these prescription cocktails which greatly increase the instances of ADRs and further the need for patient-centric prescription decisions.

For the same test, laboratories genotype your DNA once and this produces a shocking error rate of 1 in 11 (9.09%). Testing is based on the the accuracy of the equipment used; the best equipment in the world usually have an accuracy rate (concordance rate with known genotypes) of 99.7% per SNP sequenced in a single run. For a single test, more than 60 SNPs are tested, and this translates to an error of 1 in 11 SNPs, or 9.09%.

At PTC Laboratories, our accuracy follows forensic testing standards. The error rate for our genotyping is 1 in 171 million (0.000001%) because we perform genotyping 3 times on each person tested. We have verified both the equipment manufacturer’s error rates and our own testing methods. Always find out testing standards of laboratories.

If you have been on your current medication regime for some time, chances are that it is suitable. However, our tests will be able to confirm whether the medication regime is suitable. You will also have the necessary information at your fingertips should you need to change your current medication regime, or if you have to take additional medications. For example, if you find a generic medication that is cheaper, you may use the results of our test to tell if the new medication is suitable for you.

You should understand that medications, or drugs, are designed to work on a large group of people. However, if you fall outside this group, your reaction to the medication may not have the desirable effect resulting in either an adverse drug reaction or simply no reaction at all.

Our tests include drug to drug interactions for every drug dispensed within the USA, and an assay covering more than 60 specific medications over 3 different medication classes (psychotropic, pain and heart medication).

You can have prescribed drugs as usual, but your doctor cannot assure that you will not have an adverse drug reaction. Doctors usually prescribe medication according to its specific function that helps treat your condition. However, there is a chance that those medications prescribed may not suitable for you.

What happens when a prescribed medication has an undesirable effect in a patient? In many instances, a second medication is prescribed within this cocktail to minimise the negative effect of the first medication, in the belief that the first medication is effective and essential. This is not due to the lack of knowledge on the doctor’s part, it becomes very complex when dealing with multiple prescriptions, lifestyle factors, diet (food can affect the metabolism of certain medications) and new ailments or diseases.

Through our tests, doctors are able to see how your genetics affect your metabolism of the drugs prescribed. Knowing this allows them to prescribe you suitable medications at the suitable dosage, avoiding undesirable consequences – adverse drug reactions and wasting your money on unsuitable medications. Our tests cover more than 60 specific medications over 3 different medication classes (psychotropic, pain and heart medication).

Our pharmacogenetics test only needs to be taken once. Your DNA does not change, hence your metabolism of the specific medications our test covers will never change.

This is not a test for illnesses, it is a test for the way your body metabolizes certain medications or drugs. It is most beneficial to those who take different types of medications. So if you have to take various types of medications for various illnesses, then yes, this test will definitely benefit you.

This is not a test for illnesses, it is a test for the way your body metabolizes certain medications.

Most pharmacogenetics laboratories in Thailand offer tests for individual medications. This means that their tests are drug specific. It seems cheap – you pay anywhere between 2,000 – 3,500 THB to test your response to EACH drug.

What you, need to know is that only a handful of genes in our DNA are responsible for the metabolism of many different types of medications. What this means is that the laboratory actually has to test multiple genes or locations in your DNA to find out your response for only one type of medication. They have enough data to provide you information for multiple medications.

At PTC Laboratories, we believe that you should get your money’s worth. We prefer to test these handful of genes and provide you information on more than 60 individual medications (and the list keeps expanding), compared to testing for less than 10 medications with other local laboratories.

Emerging research is allowing us to piece together more of the puzzle every day and report on specific genes at a high level of accuracy. At PTC Laboratories, our tests include the latest research and findings to include the largest amount of psychotropic, pain and heart class of medications. Currently, we do not charge patients when we add new medications to our assays.

No, the report can only be used by the person tested because their DNA is unique. Unless you are an identical twin, no one else will have the same DNA as you.

Your doctor needs to order this test for you. Send us an email with your doctor’s information and we will arrange to send a kit to them.

Unfortunately, no.

A simple oral swab sample is needed. The doctor will use 4 sterile cotton swabs to collect skin cells by rubbing the inside of your mouth. The whole procedure takes less than 5 minutes.

Results are available in 5-7 working days via email.

Yes, of course you can. You should show the report to every doctor who prescribes you any kind of medication.

No, your drug response to the medications we test will never change. This is because the way you metabolize these medications depends on your genetics, and your DNA will never change.